SKILLS / Writing / Vocabulary/ Grammar

 Academic Passive Grammar

The basic passive structure

• Structure: verb to be + past participle
• active
• Mrs Harris     cooks       our food
• Subject           verb          object

• passive
• Our food      is cooked                by Mrs Harris
• object           passive verb          subject (agent)

• RULE: The main use of the passive is to say who / what was affected not who did the action (the doer)

The passive

Structure: verb to be + past participle (3rd verb form)

Active sentence: Hurricane kills 3,000 people

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

Passive sentence: 3,000 people are killed by a hurricane

Rule: focus of the passive sentence is on the object – in this case the object is more important than the cause

Basic Passive Rules

Explain why the passive is used in each of these sentences

1. My car was stolen last night
2. Hamlet was written by Shakespeare
3. All the computers are checked before they leave the factory
4. The Prisoner is being taken to Jail
5. The problem is being dealt with in our accounts department
6. Smoking is prohibited in the station

Basic Passive Rules – Answers

The passive is used in each of these sentences because…

• 1. My car was stolen last night
• We do not know who stole it
• 2. Hamlet was written by Shakespeare
• The focus is on the book not Shakespeare
• 3. All the computers are checked before they leave the factory
• It is not important to know who – that Pete and John do it
• 4.The Prisoner is being taken to Jail
• It is known who takes the prisoner – the police
• 5. The problem is being dealt with in our accounts department.
• Formality less personal and friendly
• 6. Smoking is prohibited in the station
• Rules and regulations

Passive Tense Structures

Fill in the passive column

Passive Tense Answers

Passive Exercises

Use the verb in brackets and create a passive grammar structure in the correct tense

1. The election ____________________(hold) next week
2. Antibiotics _____________________(develop) in the 1930’s
3. The new bridge _________________(open) by the Queen
4. More and more cars ______________(produce) every year
5. We ____________________ (invite) to Paul’s wedding
6. Every car which left the ferry _________(stop) and searched
7. The door ___________________(leave) open on purpose.
8. Everyone who applies _____________(give) an interview
9. Books _____________________(return) within 3 weeks
10. He _________(promote) 3 times before becoming a director
11. By 2050 the first space station _________________(build)

Passive Exercises ANSWERS

Use the verb in brackets and create a passive grammar structure in the correct tense

• The election is being held next week
• Antibiotics were developed in the 1930’s
• The new bridge is going to be opened by the Queen
• More and more cars are sold every year
• We have been invited to Paul’s wedding
• Every car which left the ferry was being stopped and searched
• The door may have been left open on purpose.
• Everyone who applies will be given an interview
• Books must be returned within 3 weeks
• He had been promoted 3 times before becoming a director
• By 2050 the first space station will have been built

Please note there is more than one answer.

Passive Speaking

Use these questions to practice speaking in the passive…

Have you ever been….

• attacked by a dog
• hit by a teacher
• interviewed for radio or TV
• hit by a car
• stopped by police
• operated on
• proposed to
• told off by a teacher
• arrested by the police
• offered drugs / illegal products
• taken to hospital by ambulance
• given a prize
• accused  of doing something you didn’t do
• caught doing something illegal

Passive Speaking – processes

Answer these questions about your country…

• What is manufactured in your country?
• What are the main crops grown in your country?
• What alcohol is produced in your country?
• What is exported and imported in your country?
• How is electricity generated in your country?

you create a question…

Academic Grammar Lessons

This section is more complex advanced structures and forms.

Passive Grammar is…

…common in academic English because it helps to create formality, focus on the object and develop an impersonal stance. This blog will look at impersonal passive structures and nominalisation (using the verb as a noun).

A common way of reporting what is said by people or by an unspecified group of people

It is said that….

[It + passive verb (be + past participle) + that clause]

To infinitive impersonal passives

The subject + passive verb (be+past participle) + to infinitive

Common verbs used in impersonal passive forms:

Practice

Answers Practice:

1. People believe the company stole over a million pounds

It is believed that the company stole over a million pounds

The company is believed to have stolen over a million pounds

There is a belief that the company stole over a million pounds

One belief is that the company stole over a million pounds

2. We expect the train strike will begin tomorrow

It is expected that the train strike will begin tomorrow

The Train Strike is expected to begin tomorrow

There is an expectation that the train strike will begin tomorrow

One expectation is that the train strike will begin tomorrow

This is a worksheet with eight more similar exercises…